The Prophet REV2 is Dave Smith’s reimagining of his Prophet ’08 poly synth — a modern classic that has appeared on countless recordings and stages since its debut in 2007. As Dave puts it, “The REV2 is the realization of our effort to enhance and improve everything we could about the original design — all at a more accessible price.”

 

The Prophet REV2 retains all of the key features of the Prophet ’08 and expands on them. It has twice the polyphony, twice the mod matrix, waveshape modulation on all waveforms, digital effects per layer in stacked or split voice mode, a polyphonic step sequencer per layer, and more. The result is a true analog powerhouse.

 

Best of all, you can download any of the many existing libraries of Prophet ’08 sounds and they will not only sound identical, but can be enhanced with the new features.

 

With 8 voices to play with, you have the freedom to allocate them as you wish. 

 

The Prophet REV2 gets its bold, punchy sound from its 2/4 pole, low-pass, resonant Curtis filters per voice. These are the same filters used not only in the Prophet ’08, but in many classic instruments of the 70’s and 80’s. A separate Audio Mod control adds additional harmonic complexity and movement.

 

A powerful new feature unique to the REV2 is waveshape modulation. You can now vary the “pulse width” of any of the four waveforms (sawtooth, saw+tri, triangle, square). Using the Shape Mod control, you can manually dial in a desired waveshape width or use an LFO or other mod source for continuously shifting timbre. Even single-oscillator sounds take on new depth and dimension. The tonal possibilities are vast.

 

The effects section provides reverb, delays (standard and BBD), chorus, phase shifter, ring modulation, and distortion. In stacked or split voice mode, you can apply a different effect to each layer. Effects parameters can be modulated through the Mod Matrix.

 

Also present from its predecessor is an easy-to-assign Mod Matrix, now twice as big, with 8 individual slots and many more sources/destinations. It’s a veritable sound designer’s playground.

 

The polyphonic step sequencer allows up to 64 steps and up to 6 notes per step. You can create a different sequence for each layer when you are working in stacked or split voice mode, making it a powerful tool for composition or performance. The sequencer also functions as a modulation source in gated mode, allowing you to create up to 4 different 16-step sequences for complex modulation. Sequences allow ties and rests, and can sync to an external MIDI clock. The arpeggiator features note repeats, re-latching, and can be synced to external MIDI clock, as well.

 

The knob-per-function front panel offers instant access to Prophet REV2 functions. Included are 512 permanent factory programs and 512 rewritable user programs.

 

All of this polyphonic power is packed into a five-octave, premium-quality, semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and channel aftertouch. Other road-worthy features include an integrated power supply, USB support, and a crisp OLED display, making the Prophet REV2 an ideal instrument for gigging or recording, and an analog powerhouse like no other.